Nicosia, Cyprus. Disy on Thursday criticised Akel after the party’s leader Stefanos Stefanou said a day earlier that he would not support a solution to the Cyprus problem if it involved direct participation by Nato. The exchange came as discussions continue over security guarantees in a post-solution Cyprus.
Disy criticism of Akel
Disy said that, during a period of intense geopolitical developments and international processes on the Cyprus issue, Akel had chosen to place “ideological woodenness and dogmatic obsessions” above the goal of reunification and liberation from Turkish troops through a viable and functional solution.
It added that the resolution of the Cyprus issue, related security matters, and the prospect of Nato membership should be evaluated exclusively in light of the national interest and the safeguarding of the Republic of Cyprus and its citizens, rather than through what it described as ideological filters from the past.
Disy said Cyprus needs strategy, realism and strong international alliances, adding that ideological obsessions cannot serve as a guide for the country’s future.
Stefanou’s position
Stefanou told diplomats on Wednesday that “those who think about Nato involvement in [a solution to] the Cyprus problem should do their calculations without Akel”.
He added that those familiar with the situation in Cyprus could understand that a solution without Akel’s support could not win public backing.
Previous precedent and current discussions
Akel had also withdrawn its support for the Annan plan before the 2004 referendum on reunification, citing the absence of adequate guarantees from the UN security council regarding security after reunification.
At the time, the party said it was “saying ‘no’ now to cement the next ‘yes’”. That position has not since been tested in a public vote.
Nato remains part of ongoing discussions over security guarantees in a post-solution Cyprus. It has been suggested that such guarantees could take the form of the new Cypriot republic joining Nato, alongside the presence on the island of Nato troops from Turkey, Greece, France, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Nato summit
The leaders of Cyprus’ three current guarantor powers, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, were in Ankara on Tuesday and Wednesday for the annual Nato summit.